Home Depot's Competitive Success

Home Depot is the fastest growing retailer in the U.S. by some accounts. It has a fascinating history of innovation and entrepreneurship. The company had some difficulties in the mid-2000s that some attribute to cultural clashes. However, during this period the company was able to take full advantage of the housing boom. Yet when the bubble burst, Home Depot was forced to claim substantial losses. Despite these loses Home Depot has weathered the storm fairly well and is in prime position to take advantage of an economic recovery; if it ever comes.

Home Depot is a leader in the home improvement retailer industry. While many companies are falling behind Amazon and Walmart, Home Depot continues to beat its earnings estimates and attract investors. This part of the report will analyze the core competencies, strengths, and weaknesses of Home Depot to give insight into its recent successes and interpret possible downfalls.

Home Depot’s corporate-level strategy is one of internal growth. This conclusion was reached based on the increased focus that Home Depot has placed on growing its existing online and traditional retail operations. Between 2016 and 2018, Home Depot is expected to invest approximately four billion dollars into improvements in its online and physical retail locations in order to make both work more synergistically and grow sales (Petro, 2016). Home Depot hopes that these investments will continue to increase sales at both its physical and digital retail locations, thereby growing the company without adding significant numbers of physical locations.

I have learned a lot after identifying my top 7 core values now I will compare them on a personal level, local level, and a global level. The first core value I identified was economic security, and I can compare this on all three levels. On a personal level, I contribute on a daily basis by working at The Home Depot. By working at The Home Depot, I contribute to my economic security by making a salary which helps pay for school. On a local level part of the money I make goes to taxes which help local citizens afford food and healthcare. Globally I contribute by helping people install greener and more environmentally friendly options. The second core value that I discovered that was important to me is health. On a personal level, I contribute

Home Depot competitors are primarily in the home improvement and hardware retail industry, but also compete in the building materials retail and distribution, consumer electronics and appliances retail, and convenience stores and truck stops sectors. Some of Home Depot’s main competitors include: Lowe’s, True Value, and Ace Hardware. Now, these competitors are the main competition of Home Depot and all three stores carry about 75% if not more of what Home Depot sells. Keep in mind, that there are also smaller companies, often family-owned lumberyards or hardware stores that compete with Home Depot and the other large chain stores. However, Home Depot’s biggest competition is Lowe’s. “Home Depot and Lowe’s are home

John Lewis is a British department store that operates in the United Kindom and is well known for its ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ policy that brings quality products to the UK high streets and online shopping. A SWOT analysis is intended to analyse the organisation 's current status and its potential for the future. Morrison (2011, p. 158) states that a “SWOT analysis is a strategic tool used by businesses to assess the organisation 's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.” Using a SWOT analysis will encompass a detailed evaluation of the organisation for John Lewis, which could be used to benefit the company in the future. As Wetherly & Otter (2008, pp. 24-25) says “The capacity of a business to take advantage of opportunities and resist threats will depend on its internal strengths and weaknesses.” But if John Lewis has the internal strengths to undertake a change a SWOT analysis will help as it was “designed to enable an organisation to take into account internal and external factors that may affect its strategic planning decisions and thus improve its prospects of success” (Harrison, 2014, p. 6).

SWOT Analysis: The internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, and the external opportunities and threats from the viewpoint of the company

Home Depot’s corporate and business level strategies are important to the company overall success. However, the functional strategies are equally important for Home Depot to succeed. First, in the area of marketing, Home Depot partnership with ESPN has paid dividends for the company. Currently, Lowes does not have any partnerships with ESPN. Conversely, Lowes does advertise via weekly ads and TV ads. In the area of marketing, the edge would go to Home Depot.

The SWOT analysis is a great way for companies or organizations to determine their brand and product’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. In order to more effectively determine these areas, separation of internal and external issues within the company or association is crucial.

The focus of the SWOT analysis is to identify the key internal and external factors that are important to achieving the objective. SWOT analysis groups key pieces of information into two main categories; internal factors and external factors. The internal factors are the strengths and weaknesses that are internal to the company while the external factors are the opportunities and threats that presented by the external environment. The internal factors are determined by their impact on the company’s objectives. What may represent strengths with respect to one objective may be weaknesses for another objective. The external factors may include technological change, legislation, cultural changes, and changes in the marketplace or competitive position (Wood, 2008).

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Ferrell and Hartline, 2014, p. 39). A SWOT analysis evaluates both the internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats) that create advantages and disadvantages to a company when serving its customers (p. 39). A SWOT analysis is extremely beneficial in helping a company determine areas of improvement (p. 39). Internal factors examine the actual company being analyzed while external factors examine the external market (customers and competition) (p. 85).

SWOT analysis can be used to describe and analyse a company’s internal capabilities in relation to its competitive environment. A strategy behind

1. Given the SWOT analysis presented in the case, what are IKEA’s key competitive advantages? What strategic focus should the company take as it looks to further expand into the U.S. market?

When examining the potential for a new business or product, a SWOT analysis can help determine the likely risks and rewards. A SWOT analysis is an organized list of a business’s greatest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths, which are the appearances of the business that give it an advantage over others, and weaknesses, which are features that place the team at a disadvantage, are internal to the company and can be changed over time but not without some work. Opportunities, which are basics that the business could use to enhance its strengths, and threats, which are elements in the environment that could cause concern for the business, are external and they are out there in the market,

SWOT analysis is a useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organization. SWOT analysis can be classified into internal and external factors affecting a company. The Strengths and Weaknesses of the SWOT analysis represent the internal factors that influence the viability of the company. While the Opportunities and Threats, on the other hand, are the external factors that may affect the company's performances. A SWOT analysis provides more understanding of the organization in relation to its internal and external environment so that manager can formulate better strategy in pursuit of its mission.